


Love Is Easier In Fiction

by RainRune207



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Allison, Cora makes an appearance, Declarations Of Love, Deputy Parrish is a nightmare spirit, Deputy Parrish is evil, Derek Takes Care Of Stiles, Knotting, Love, M/M, Mates, McCall Pack, Nogitsune Trauma, Possessed Stiles, Protective Derek, Romance, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Smut, Stiles Has Nightmares, While Derek Sleeps, skinny love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-01-27 20:53:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1722194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainRune207/pseuds/RainRune207
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is experiencing nightmares, he's waking up in random places and he thinks the Nogitsune still has a hold on him. He turns to Derek for help and they have an unlikely friendship even though they both love each other. It's a skinny love, when two people love each other but are too shy to admit it but they still show it. They have to learn to trust each other and Stiles has to make the ultimate declaration to save Derek's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry my summary sucked just then I so didn't know what to write that wouldn't ruin the story.

Stiles was wandering aimlessly in the cold, dark, bitter night; he shivered as the frigid wind caught at his light clothing. He didn't know where he was, he looked around at the dark forest and started to panic. He wasn't sure how he had gotten here but it had been happening more and more lately and still no one believed he was going crazy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his ever present cell phone; he dialled Scott's number and swore when it went straight to voicemail. He tried Isaac, Allison, Kira and Lydia, all with the same results and he felt his heart rate increase, almost causing an anxiety attack. He even got desperate enough in his panic to try the twins but neither of them bothered answering either. He lent forward and took long calming breaths feeling his heart rate settle before he dialled the last person he could think of. The phone rang and finally a raspy voice answered, "Hello?"  
"Derek," Stiles said in a panic, "I need your help. I can't get any of the others so I called you, I don't know where I am, I'm somewhere in the woods and don't know how to get out of here. Please help me." Stiles spun around when he heard a loud crack, it sounded like someone walking in the woods behind him and it was not comforting. "I think someone's in here with me." His heart rate increased and the panic set in, his breathing got quick and he doubled over breathing in deeply through his nose and out through his mouth, feeling himself relax and work through the panic.  
"I'm coming, climb the nearest tree and stay quiet. Do not hang up the phone and don't move; listen to my voice and everything will be fine. I'm going to find you and then I'm going to smack our alpha." No one other than Stiles knew that Derek had switched allegiance to Scott and he wasn't going to give the secret away. "I'm almost at the woods now. I'll track your fresh scent Stiles."  
"Ok," he replied and Derek could hear the fear in his voice. Derek let the shift come over him when he got out of the car, he was next to Stiles' Jeep and the scent was fresh. He sniffed and followed it immediately; he started running as fast as his legs could carry him and hoped he'd find Stiles soon. Scott would kill him if his best friend got hurt while Derek was looking for him, despite Scott not answering the call in the first place. In fact Derek was pretty pissed that none of the pack had answered their phones and found out that Stiles was in trouble. "Derek, it's still here." Stiles whispered and Derek froze. The woods just got colder than it had been everywhere else and he knew there was something evil present here. He was so close to Stiles that he couldn't stop now; he had to get to him fast if he had any hope of saving him from whatever had dragged him into the woods.  
"I'm almost at you just hold on Stiles," he told him in a rushed breath, and continued following the heavy scent left by Stiles’ fear. He stopped at the base of a large oak tree and looked up, Stiles was clinging helplessly to a thick branch a good eight feet up, he could see the sweat on his face. "Stiles, you're safe." Stiles looked down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Derek. "Jump and I'll catch you," he tells him, holding out his arms to let Stiles drop into them. "We've got to get out of here," he whispered smoothly, "something is after you." He spun Stiles around so he was on his back and looked at him. "Hold on until we're out of here even if I stumble," he gripped his arms and started to run like hell. He sprinted for what felt like a lifetime with Stiles clinging to his back, he was afraid of looking back and having someone chasing them. He had to hold on for as long as possible to get him out of danger; he slowed when the unnatural cold disappeared and he let Stiles slide down to the ground. "Come on," he grabbed his arm and started pulling him quickly through the woods.  
"We can't be in danger now, the cold has disappeared and I don't feel like we're being followed," he stated and tried to free his arm from Derek's grip. The two men hadn't seen eye to eye over the past three years but they had come to an understanding this year to at least trust each other. “Where are we going?” Stiles finally asks, voice still anxious with fear.  
"I'm getting you to Scott's so I can beat his ass for not answering his phone," he responded and continued to drag Stiles behind him. When they got to the cars he shoves Stiles into his Jeep; holding the door and levelled him with a glare that Stiles knew he wasn't going to be able to refuse. "If you don't follow me I will get you and drag you there by the ear." He threatens.  
"Fine I'm coming," Stiles said reluctantly and shut his door. He watched as Derek got into his car and pulled away; he couldn't believe he had such a crush on this infuriating character, he was never going to act on the feelings but it was always there in the back on his head, something special but also something different, he didn't think other people felt this way in their lives and he didn't know how to explain it.  
He followed Derek's car and frowned when they pulled up to Scott's house, the lights were on and music was blaring. Derek opened his car door and got out waiting patiently for Stiles to follow him. Did his best friend ignore his phone because of a party? He knew he couldn't stall any further and climbed out of the car to join Derek; he looked down at his dirty pyjamas and frowned. "Derek, I can't go in there with these on." He looked at his appearance and Derek smiled before pulling off his leather jacket and handing it over. Stiles pulled it on and felt the warmth and scent envelope him; he could do anything in this jacket. "I'm ready," he confirmed and followed Derek to the door.  
Derek didn't hesitate, he opened the door and walked inside to the raging party, he walked over to the DJ and turned off the music; everyone turned to look at him and he glared right back at them.  
"Everyone out except Scott, Lydia, Alison, Isaac, Aiden and Ethan," he screamed and everyone started murmuring, "NOW." He was annoyed that no one seemed to be moving and he finally lost it; he flicked over the DJ table and looked at everyone staring at him; they all started filing out of the house. Derek stood near the door until only the appointed people were left standing in the lounge room.  
"Derek, what the hell?" Aiden and Ethan said at the same time.  
"None of you could answer your phones," he roared and Stiles flinched. They all pulled out their phones and saw the missed phone calls on their screens, they all looked at Stiles and he took a step behind Derek, he was the only one who protected him tonight and he only wanted to be close to him tonight. "He was lost in the middle of the woods," he gestured in Stiles direction, "and none of you could answer your fucking phones. Something was after him and he tried all of you without any of you sensing the danger; he got me of all people and I was straight after him. I did it for you Scott because you were meant to be the true alpha, you are meant to know when your pack is in danger and be the first one to protect them."  
"Stiles, I'm sorry," Scott said and walked towards his best friend since kindergarten. "I didn't know that you weren't here."  
These were not the words Derek wanted to hear, he wolfed out and looked at Scott with his bright blue eyes. "Derek, stop it," Stiles said and he turned to look at him. He changed back to his human form and looked at Stiles with pleading eyes. "You have all got to start working together, I feel like I'm going crazy and I'm still trying to help everyone. Why can no one help me?" He started to back away from everyone and Derek followed him. "I know you helped Derek but I'm so tired and I need sleep but if I sleep,” he paused and met Derek’s gaze again, “I usually sleep walk and then all the other times I have insomnia. I’m exhausted. I just need to feel protected and to rest…"  
"Come on, you can stay at my house and I'll watch over you. You can sleep and I'll stop you if you sleep walk," Derek said and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Come on Stiles. Leave your Jeep here and I'll bring you back in the morning so you can talk to Scott and figure this all out." He could feel the trust flowing through his body, he could see it in Derek’s eyes and he knew he could trust Derek to look after him. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake and that this night wasn’t going to drive him insane; his emotions were all over the place when it came to Derek and this could make it worse.  
"Ok," he said and Derek nodded. He yawned and rubbed his eyes in the gesture everyone had come to associate with Stiles. He looked exhausted 90% of the time and everyone had just accepted that it was what came with mucking around with the supernatural. Everyone had experienced death this year and it had changed them; Scott and Alison had recovered a lot faster than Stiles and they just assumed he was slower than them to forgive all that was in his mind.  
“Stiles, feel better,” Alison tells him.  
“Yeah okay,” he said voice laced with sarcasm. He looked at Derek and nodded, they walked out of the house together and Stiles climbed into the passenger side of his car without even worrying about his Jeep. Derek climbed in and looked at Stiles, he had his eyes closed and his head resting on the back of the seat. His full lips were pink, they were parted a little bit to allow the air to escape and he had a light flush on his cheeks from the cold of the night. “Derek, why aren’t we moving?” He asked sleepily and cracked an eye open to look at him, Derek started the car and looked embarrassed that he had gotten caught watching Stiles again, if it wasn’t for his perfect moles and his goddamn smile he might be able to resist this teenager. Teenager, he had to keep reminding himself that he was a teenager. This night was going to be long and he knew he wasn’t going to sleep even if he tried; he was going to be in too much of a hyped up state for sleep and it was all going to be because of Stiles. “Thank you for everything tonight. It means a lot to me that you were willing to come and find me.”  
“You’re welcome,” he replied and concentrated on the road. He couldn’t refuse to go and get him, he had to go and get him, this connection he felt inside was new and he had to keep it alive, now with the strong scent of Stiles freshly imprinted in his brain he knew he was never going to get it out of his head. “Stiles, we’re here,” he whispered when he pulled up in front of his loft. He climbed out and walked around to Stiles’ side of the car, he opened the door and shook his shoulder gently. His eyes flew open and he looked at Derek in a panic, he visibly relaxed when he recognised who had woken him and he sighed softly. “Sorry, come inside and get comfortable.”  
“Ok,” he yawned and Derek grabbed him to help him out of the car. He felt the electric current run through his hand at the touch and he drew his hand back quickly smacking it on the door frame. Stiles didn’t seem to notice and walked into the loft in a daze, he stood in the lounge room looking at the couch and frowned. “Is that okay to sleep on?”  
“Don’t be silly, you’re sleeping in my bed and I’ll sit up to watch you,” Derek said and gestured for Stiles to walk up the flight of stairs. “First door on the left,” he said and followed Stiles up the stairs. He stopped in the doorway and watched Stiles strip off his jacket and throw it on the end of his bed; he climbed in and pulled the blanket up to his chin. Derek pulled up a chair and rested his sock clad feet onto the bed. “Go to sleep Stiles, I’ll be right here to protect you, I promise.”  
“Thank you,” he mumbled and closed his eyes falling straight back to sleep.  
***  
Derek sprung up at the scream and looked at Stiles; he was thrashing in the bed and looked like he was having a nightmare. He wasn’t sure what to do, he sat on the edge of the bed and shook his shoulder softly; he wasn’t stirring so he shook him harder, Stiles’ eyes flew open and he grabbed Derek crying into his shoulder. “Shh,” he soothed and rubbed his back slowly, “it was only a dream Stiles.” He could remember his mother comforting him in the same way after the deaths he experienced as a child. He listened to the sobs wreck Stiles’ body and just continued stroking his back reassuringly; he didn’t know what else to do in this situation. He wasn’t a parent and had next to no experience in comforting a screaming child waking up from nightmares. He had comforted Cora a few times when she had woken up but he couldn’t think about his dead family now when Stiles needed him.  
“Will you lay with me Derek?” Stiles mumbled and Derek didn’t know what else to do but nod, Stiles slid down into the bed and Derek joined him wrapping his arm around his waist. He pulled him into his chest and breathed in his scent, he could smell the woody scent of the soap he used and something that was purely Stiles. “You won’t leave me.”  
“I won’t leave you,” he echoed in a soft whisper next to his ear. He sighed softly because he didn’t know how much trouble he was going to be in when he woke up in the morning. He continued to stroke his arm and just to whisper soothing words to him until he felt his breathing deepen and Stiles fall back into a deep sleep.  
He nuzzled into his neck and closed his eyes letting the exhaustion of the last 30 minutes finally take over his body. He only wanted a five minute nap to help take the edge off so he closed his eyes and let Stiles scent envelope his body, it was a comforting smell and he relaxed into the blankets, he really could get used to this but knew he shouldn’t because it was wrong. Stiles was so young and deserved to have the life he lived, he deserved to go to college and meet someone special. He had to accept that but for now they had one night together and that was all Derek could ask for, perhaps more than he deserved and he wasn’t going to be greedy and demand more because it wasn’t fair to Stiles. He sighed and felt the sleep start to claim his body; this night had been too long and too weird. He succumbed to his tiredness and finally drifted off into a deep sleep.  
“Derek Hale,” his eyes flung open and he turned to look at his Uncle Peter. “You are in so much trouble.” He looked down at the still sleeping Stiles and shot his uncle a dirty look, he could see the daylight peeking through the curtains and he sighed before rolling away from Stiles and getting up. He followed his disapproving uncle downstairs and made himself a mug of coffee. “What are you doing with one of Scott’s pack members?”  
“Shh, he got lost in the woods and I was the one that found him. He’s just staying the night and if you don’t like it you can leave my apartment; you forget this loft belongs to me and I can have as many guests over as I want.” Derek said and took a sip of the much needed coffee, he sighed and tried to get the tired feeling to leave his body. “If you don’t like who I have here then go get your own place.”  
“I always assumed the company would be female and not male,” Peter said angrily. He ran his fingers through his brown hair and shot those piercing blue eyes Derek’s way. They could read into his soul and if he saw the truth there then Derek knew he was going to be screwed. He couldn’t tell him about the feelings he had and the fact that he thought Stiles was his true mate. He would never understand that because he had never felt that way for anyone. “Is he your mate? Is that the reason you brought him here?”  
“Don’t be silly Peter,” he got down another mug and poured a cup of coffee for Stiles. He took another sip of his own coffee before walking back towards the stairs, he turned back around and faced his uncle, he didn’t realise how pathetic the man truly was and how little he saw in the actual world. He didn’t need his bad influence to impact on his life, he needed something better and something that could show him there was still good in the world. “I want you to go uncle. You and I don’t see things the same way and I don’t know if I can keep living with you knowing that.”  
He heard his uncle gasp but he didn’t care, he walked up the stairs and into his room. Stiles was still sleeping and he walked over to him with a smile playing on his lips; he put the mugs down on the bedside table and gave Stiles a little shake. His eyes opened and took in Derek leaning over him, he could get used to waking up to that and smiled at him.  
“What time is it?” He asked trying to find a clock.  
“It’s nine,” Derek answered and picked up one of the steaming cups of coffee. “Coffee?” Stiles nodded and sat up grabbing the mug, he took a much needed sip of the drink of the gods and relaxed against the headboard. Derek continued to watch him and found he looked better than he did last night. “Do you remember everything from last night?” Stiles nodded and Derek froze, he hoped he didn’t remember him smelling him and nuzzling into his neck.  
“I remember waking up to you shaking me, crying and you telling me it was just a nightmare.” He took another sip of his coffee and looked at Derek. “I woke up again during the night and my first thought was that you wouldn’t have stayed with me. I was wrong, you were asleep and holding me so tight, I felt safe in that moment and fell straight back to sleep. Thank you for being there with me, it means a lot and not many people would do it considering our history together.”  
“It’s not a problem,” he picked up his own coffee mug and took a sip. He needed to do something to distract himself and this was the only way to do it; he didn’t have anything else in the room that would stop him from grabbing Stiles and giving in to his primal urges. “We should get ready and get you back to Scott’s. Do you want to borrow some clothes? They might be a little baggy but at least you won’t have to face the day in your pyjamas.” Stiles nodded and Derek walked to his closet, he knew he had some clothes in here from when he was a teenager and about Stiles size, he got them out and tossed the pair of black jeans and striped shirt to him. “These might fit, they were mine when I was a young idiot but they were my favourites and I couldn’t bear to throw them away. I was very sentimental back then, you wouldn’t think it now but it was true then.” He stopped talking and shook his head, not sure why he’d revealed that information to Stiles. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”  
He hurried out of the room and Stiles sat there staring after him, he was so screwed, being here and having Derek taking care of him had been wonderful and he could get used to it. He stripped off his pyjamas and hurriedly got changed into Derek’s clothes; they fit perfectly and still had the distinctive smell of Derek to them. He put back on the leather jacket and his shoes from last night, at least he remembered shoes in his sleep walking state and didn’t have to go barefoot for the morning. He grabbed his coffee and headed down the stairs into the bright daylight spilling into the entire bottom floor.  
Derek looked up and stopped when he noticed how good Stiles looked in his clothes. “Thanks for the clothes,” he said and sat down next to him at the island bench. “Do you have anything to eat in here I am starving?”  
He nodded and got out some food to cook for the both of them. It seemed so normal and very domesticated for him, if Peter came back in now he’d tease him and never let him live it down. He threw some peppers into a pan and tossed them around before adding the sliced bacon. He continued to let it toss around before he cracked the eggs and mixed them pouring it on top. A perfect breakfast omelette for them to have in the morning, he finished cooking it and put it on two plates he had set out on the bench. He passed one to Stiles and he dug in quickly, Derek sat back down and started eating his own.  
“You can keep the clothes by the way,” he said and then looked at Stiles again, “except my leather jacket. That gets returned to me.” Stiles nodded but didn’t reply, he was happy eating his omelette and leaving the chatter up to Derek. They both fell into a comfortable silence and ate their breakfasts in peace, it was like a lovely little couple enjoying a meal together and it seemed completely normal to them. Derek finished his plate and put it away in the dishwasher before facing Stiles again, he was sitting there drinking his coffee and watching Derek over the rim of his cup. “I should get you to Scott’s before he comes looking for you. He might think that I’ve kidnapped you or tried to kill you. Either way the choices are limited and I need to get you there as soon as possible.”  
“Ok,” Stiles agreed and put down his cup, “I’m ready then.” Derek wasn’t trying to hurry him but he just knew he couldn’t be alone with him in this domesticated situation any longer. It felt so normal and he couldn’t pretend that this was in his future, he was never going to get that happily ever after in the world they live in and he just had to accept that. They walked outside and got into Derek’s car; he drove to Scott’s house in silence and Stiles looked out the window trying to keep his eyes off of Derek.  
He eventually breaks the silence not able to stand the uncomfortable feeling anymore. “What are we meant to tell everyone about last night? I still have no idea what to say to them and what to tell Scott and the rest of the pack? I don’t know what’s happening to me.”  
“We’ll figure it out together,” Derek said as he turned onto Scott’s street. He parked down the street and turned to look at Stiles; he was still staring out the window and he tapped his arm making him turn to look at him. “If you ever need help or somewhere to go you know you can always turn to me and I’ll keep you safe.”  
“Why would you want to keep me safe?”  
“For Scott and the pack,” Derek lied, relieved for Stiles lack of superhuman senses because he’d know he was lying immediately.  
“Yeah, right,” Stiles answered sarcastically. Derek frowned, if only Stiles knew the truth about how he felt, he was doing this because he felt a compulsion to do it. He couldn’t understand it and he wasn’t about to try and explain it to anyone.  
“Stiles, you are valuable to everyone. We know that you’re the backbone of this pack and you are the one who solves the puzzles. We need you Stiles.” He had never given such an honest answer to anyone before and it felt good to finally be telling the truth. “Come on let’s get you to Scott because he knows we’re out here. He’ll come looking for you any moment.”  
“Oh goody, he’ll finally be interested in finding me,” Derek let out a laugh at Stiles’ sarcasm towards his best friend and drove the rest of the way to Scott’s house. He parked the car and looked at Stiles again, he was already watching him and blushed at being caught staring. “Sorry, my dad says I have this staring problem and I’m trying to fix that.”  
“It’s okay. I have a temper problem but everyone knows that and I can’t fix it,” Stiles smiled and Derek heard the front door open. “Oh Scott is here.” He opened his door and got out of the car, he waited for Stiles to join him before he walked the last of the distance to the waiting Scott. “Is the entire pack here including the humans?”  
“Inside,” Scott answered bluntly staring at Stiles and not meeting Derek’s gaze.  
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” he said and walked inside.


	2. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack has a meeting to discuss what they do about Stiles and the problems he's found himself in. Stiles gets the ultimate say of where he wants to go and he makes an unlikely choice by choosing Derek. The pack isn't sure why he's done that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure I'll post all of this story. I'm liking where the further chapters are heading. It's going to have a lot of angst and feelings plus there will be sex eventually but I have to figure how I'm fitting that in. I hope you enjoy it.

Scott grabbed Stiles’ arm as he went to walk by him. Derek stopped to look at him and Scott shook his head. He looked at Stiles and Stiles shook his head to stop Derek from moving towards them, he nodded and walked inside shutting the door. “What did you tell Derek? Does he know about your feelings?” Scott whispered so hopefully no one inside could hear their conversation. Stiles shook his head and pulled Scott down the path so that they were further away from the house and no one should be eavesdropping or at least he hoped they weren’t. “So what was last night about, you running off with Derek?”

“I needed him last night,” he said and rubbed his hand over his face, “he came and found me when you didn’t and I needed him. I felt protected by him, I needed to be with him. I can’t describe it any more than that, I just felt this compulsion to be with him last night and I did what my gut told me.” He saw Scott look at him and he moved towards his best friend. “Please can we just go inside and have this talk. Derek is going to chew you a new one.”

“You need to be careful when it comes to him Stiles,” Scott warned when they walked back to his house. Stiles shook his head, freezing when he heard the yelling from inside, he ripped open the door and headed to the lounge room. The pack were all yelling at each other and Stiles looked at Scott with wide eyes; he needed to do something to settle this entire situation down. “Hey,” he roared and they all turned to look at him. “Stop it.”

Stiles walked over to Derek and put his hand on his arm. The older man turns to look down at him and Stiles smiled softly. Everyone that was a werewolf would know that he reeked of Derek by now and they would have drawn their own conclusions. “So,” he let out and turned to face everyone. They all looked like they could murder Derek and he moved his body in front of him protectively. Derek put his hands on his shoulders and went to move him out of the way but Stiles dug his feet in and refused to be moved. “Why was everyone yelling at Derek?”

“Because he smells like you and we want to know why,” Isaac said and Stiles sighed, “he’s been freshly showered but we can still smell you on him. That’s something that has been happening for more than one night and we want to know if he’s been seeing you outside of our group.” Stiles felt his eyes go wide and he looked at Derek; he knew that Derek watched him while he slept during the week and took the weekend off. He knew that after last night his patrol was going to include weekends too. Isaac shrugs; “He refused to answer and we all started to yell.”

“Because it’s none of your business,” Derek answered sternly and Stiles could see the pink rising up his neck. He was embarrassed that he was getting called out in front of Stiles, this wasn’t what friends did and he was going to hit them when he got the chance. “What Stiles and I do outside of the pack doesn’t concern you? If it does then you’ll get told and it will be made evident to you.” Stiles liked the answer because it didn’t give anything away as to why Derek smelt like him but it made it known that if it was important they’d be told. “Now can we actually discuss what we came here to talk about?” Derek looked at Scott with wide eyes and pleaded for his alpha to step in and take over this conversation.

“Yes, have the floor Derek?” He turned to look at the pack and flashed red eyes and they all stopped talking immediately and looked at him. “Now stay quiet and sit down, we will listen to Derek and Stiles and then we will discuss this like a civilised pack.” He threatened and he looked at Stiles giving him a little nod that he had his back and wasn’t going to ask too many questions. Scott took a seat in the middle of the couch next to Allison and Kira; it seemed incredibly awkward to Stiles and he huddled closer to Derek. “Begin,” he said and Stiles looked at Derek, he really hoped he didn’t yell and cause a scene. The McCall’s neighbours were nosey and they would call the police or Melissa if they thought anything untoward was going on.

“Something bad is happening with Stiles,” he said calmly and looked at the pack, “he drove his car and walked almost a mile without knowing it. Either he has perfected sleep walking and we have no idea or something serious is happening with him.” Stiles looked at Derek again and frowned; he hadn’t realised that Derek thought him in danger and was willing to confront the pack to make them see it. “He has been doing this for the last month and we need to find out what is wrong with him.” He said then froze, because he just realised what he had let slip; he’s known about this for a month and they’re going to wonder why.

“A month? You’ve known about this for a month and didn’t say anything,” Scott roared and everyone started yelling again. Stiles backed away and felt this over-whelming sensation sweep over his body; he collapsed to his knees and struggled to get breath in. Scott was in front of him instantly. He couldn’t hear a word that he was saying due to the ringing in his ears, his chest hurt and he couldn’t seem to make it go away.

“Stiles,” Derek shoved Scott out of the way and grabbed his chin tilting it to look at him, “just breathe.” He demonstrated to Stiles what he wanted him to do and Stiles nodded, he sucked in a deep breath and held it before letting it out, he continued to look at Derek and continued to follow his breathing pattern. He felt the tightness leave his chest and he could breathe normally; he looked at Derek with wide eyes and felt his fingers trace his jaw lightly. He was calming and he didn’t know what he was going to do when this happened and he was away from him. “You had a panic attack Stiles.”

He hadn’t had a panic attack since his mother passed away when he used to have them weekly but never this bad. It had felt more like a heart attack or a stroke: he definitely had never had one that bad as a child. He looked back at Derek and still felt his hands trailing over him comfortingly; one was tracing his jaw and the other was rubbing soothing circles down his back. “Derek, what’s happening to me? First the nogitsune and now this. I don’t think I can take any more of this before I end up killing myself.” He probably shouldn’t be having this conversation in front of everyone but he couldn’t stop the words flowing from his mouth. “Maybe this is meant to drive me crazy so I kill myself.”

“Don’t say that,” Derek whispered. He continued to trace his fingers over Stiles jaw and cheek, he closed his eyes loving the feeling and he felt himself relax even more because of it. “We’ll get you through this Stiles. We always do.”

“I can’t rely on you for everything,” Stiles said and looked around the room. He finally remembered where they were and he pulled away from Derek; he sat up on his knees and looked at the pack. “I- I don’t remember what we were talking about now.” Derek stood up and held his hand out to him, he took it and Derek pulled him up easily. “Where were we?”

“Derek knowing about this for a month,” Lydia answered and collapsed on the seat. “I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t know that something was wrong with you, I should have known that something was wrong and I didn’t. I didn’t know anything.” She buried her face in her hands and Aiden sat down next to her whispering comforting words while he rubbed her back. Stiles was happy for them and tried to ignore them in that moment, it wasn’t Lydia’s fault and if they were going to blame anyone it was going to be him. He never told them what was going on and they could only judge him for these decisions.

“Lydia, it’s not your fault.” Stiles Walked over to her and made her look up to meet his gaze. “If it was anyone’s fault it’s mine, I didn’t tell anyone and I wasn’t planning to tell anyone. I thought I could deal with this on my own and I wasn’t going to bother the pack with these nightmares.” He removed his hand from her chin and stepped away from her, Aiden was looking at him with glowing blue eyes and he knew he had tested his patience enough for the day. “I assumed they were just the effects of the nogitsune and I had expected them to happen. When I started waking up outside of my house and down the street I knew something was wrong, I went to Deaton and Derek was there at the same time. He refused to leave so he heard what was going on, Deaton told him to keep an eye on me and make sure that it didn’t get worse and if it got worse he had to report back to him. This is finally worse I think.”

Derek watched as Stiles pulled his leather jacket tight around his body, it was like he was using it as a shield and hoping to protect himself. He couldn’t stop his feet from moving and his arms from wrapping around him, if he wanted to feel protected then Derek was going to do it and he wasn’t going to let go until Stiles told him too.

“So why didn’t Derek tell us?” Scott said and Stiles looked up at him. “If he’s known and was told to watch you then why didn’t he tell us? We could have taken shifts and watched over you.”

“I’ve been watching him every night,” Derek growled out and looked at Scott, “I’ve been outside of his house and I’ve been taking care of him. Deaton told me to have one night off a week and I chose last night. It won’t happen again, I will be there seven nights from now on and I can sleep while Stiles is at school. All of this seems to stem from his nightmares and I will protect him to the best of my abilities.”

“You need help Derek,” Scott said and looked at him with red glowing eyes. “That’s not a request, it’s an order from your alpha and you have to obey it.”

“Stop it,” Stiles said and looked at both of them. He stepped out from Derek’s comforting grasp and pointed his finger back and forth between them. “You both stop it right now.” They looked at him with a shocked expression and Stiles frowned; you’d think they didn’t remember that he didn’t have to obey pack laws. He was human and had free will; they couldn’t control that in him. “No fighting between each other. Derek, the pack can help out. You still get to be number one, the one who is closest to me but we do need help.”

“Alright, we’ll get some help but I’m still going to be there every day Stiles,” Derek muttered and Stiles nodded. He wasn’t going to refuse Derek, if he did he’d just let himself in when he was sleeping anyway, it had been happening for a month and Stiles had known about it. It hadn’t made him uncomfortable and he wanted to call Derek out on it before, he had woken up and seen him one night and had pretended to sleep while watching him out of cracked eyes. Derek had never known that Stiles could sense him when he was near. “Can we finish this conversation now without the fights?”

“Yes,” Scott said and sat back down between Kira and Allison.

“Now, we have to come up with rules. No more parties, no drinking. Phones are constantly on and on loud all the time and if one of us calls you have to drop whatever you’re doing and respond.” Derek started and Stiles nodded at him to continue. He was glad someone else was making the decisions on his behalf, he couldn’t concentrate on doing it himself right now because he was tired all the time, last night was the first night he had a reasonably good sleep and he wasn’t going to read anything into it at the moment. He was just going to let Derek run the show until it was time to leave. “We need to all be on the same schedule, I know some of you won’t be able to do a lot of night shifts because of school, it sucks being in a pack with one adult but I can handle it”

“We’ll go to school drained and take shifts during the night,” Scott said and the rest of the pack nodded in agreement. “If we each do two hours and then we’ll have a good six hours sleep. We’ll be able to function at school with six hours sleep, and none of us will leave our post until the next one arrives. Understood?”

“Yes,” they all answered in unison and Scott smiled. He turned back to Stiles and Derek, Stiles had taken a seat behind him and looked worn out. The lack of sleep was catching up on him and he looked like he benefit from a sedative so he’d be able to have one good night sleep, except you can’t escape nightmares on a sedative, they kept you trapped in the dream world and he couldn’t do that to his friend. As much as his mum would recommend Stiles going to hospital to be monitored he wasn’t going to allow that.

“So, I will take from ten to twelve, Isaac from twelve to two, Aiden from two to four and Ethan from four to six,” Scott said decisively and looked at his pack nodding. “We’ll switch positions every night until this thing is over. Hopefully Deaton can find something and make this disappear. Then we keep working to destroy the nemeton and get rid of its power once and for all.”

“Alright,” Stiles said and yawned loudly, “so Derek will stay with me for the time being and we’ll just have to tell my dad the truth. He’ll be able to handle it and either he’ll stay at the loft or I can come there. I don’t want to be around him in case I hurt him. I don’t want to be responsible for killing my only remaining relative. I can’t do that.”

“We’ll go and talk to him after this Stiles,” Derek said and Scott nodded, “Scott and I will come with you. We’ll explain the situation and we’ll make sure he’s not in danger. I think you going to the loft is a good idea, there’s only one door you can come out of and it is in a remote location so you won’t be a danger to anyone.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence Derek,” Stiles replied sarcastically.

“So do Kira, Lydia and I get to do anything?” Allison asked and looked at the pack. “Perhaps we could team up with one of you, it will be double the eyes and my father can make up the fourth person. He’ll help protect Stiles and won’t let anything happen to him again. We can do this as a team. As a family. As a pack. We’re all pack here even us humans and we deserve to help you out, we all care for Stiles the same amount and we’re going to make sure he’s alright.”

“Alright, you can team up with someone and Allison your father will be a great addition to this. We need a fourth human if you all want to help out,” Scott said and nodded confidentially.

“I’m going to go and talk to my dad now,” Stiles said and stood up quickly. Derek joined him and they started to walk to the door, Stiles heard Scott mutter something to the pack but he wasn’t paying attention. He stepped outside and pulled the jacket tighter around his body, Derek reached out and rubbed his back with strong hands. “What if my dad says no to leaving or to letting me go?” Stiles said and shivered from the nerves of having to talk to his father about this.

“It will be fine and even if he says no I will be there tonight,” Derek said reassuringly and Stiles nodded. “I haven’t abandoned you once in this month and I won’t do it until we figure this out Stiles. I gave you my word that I’ll protect you and I will.”

“I know but I don’t want people to get hurt because of me,” he replied drily and scuffed his shoe against the ground.

“Hey,” Derek said loudly and Stiles looked up to meet his eyes. “We will protect you even if you don’t want us too.”

“That’s what I’m scared of,” Stiles replied, “I don’t want one of you to die for me.” He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands along his thighs nervously, he didn’t want to admit the next bit of information in case Derek interpreted it the wrong way but he had. “I love everyone in there. Well I still don’t love the twins , but after the nogitsune, I don’t want to see anyone get hurt by my hands.” He pointed at the house before he dropped his hand and looked back at Derek. “I knew you were watching me and it freaked me out, I hardly slept because I didn’t want to have an incident and hurt you. This entire situation is reminding me too much of the nogitsune and I don’t want a repeat of it. I don’t want to be possessed by something again. I don’t want to feel like I’m going crazy all over again. I can’t take this at the moment and I don’t know how much longer I can do this without losing my mind.”

“I promise nothing will happen to me or the rest of the pack,” Derek sounded convincing and Stiles wanted to believe him but he couldn’t shake this bad feeling inside. “Come on let’s go and talk to your dad. Do you want to drive yourself or do you want to come with me?” the older man asked as he opened up the door to his car, Stiles slid into the passenger seat and snuggled in. He was too tired to drive himself anywhere himself and was definitely taking the chauffeured lift. He closed his eyes and waited until Derek slid in the car next to him before he spoke again.

“Thank you.” Derek nodded and Stiles couldn’t help but look at the muscles in his neck and the sharpness of his jawline, his nose which had a little bend suggesting that it had been broken before and his green eyes. He was in trouble. He turned away and looked out the window refusing to let his eyes go and seek out Derek’s profile again. They arrive at the police station and Stiles gets out of the car heading inside before Derek can move, he walks through the front door and waves to deputy Parrish, they had all come to like him and Stiles knows they’ll be lifelong friends. It was because of the sass.

He strolled to his dad’s office and knocked on the door, his father looked up and smiled. “Stiles, is everything okay?” He looked over Stiles shoulder and knew he saw Derek following closely behind him. Stiles could feel him there without having to look behind him, he always knew where Derek was without having to look and that had only started when he was possessed by the nogitsune. Maybe it would go away and his life would return to normal but right now he didn’t want it to go away. It was comforting to know Derek was there and that he was protected. “What is going on Stiles?”

“Something’s happening to me again, Deaton thinks it’s an after effect from the nogitsune but because I had that dark power in me other things have been attracted to my body.” This was the only way he could explain it without it becoming too creepy and for his dad to see the potential situation that he was under. He’d be more inclined to listen to them and let Stiles have the time away until it was taken care of. “We’re trying to find a way to get the darkness out of me but it’s a slow process. Anyway, it has started getting worse lately and I don’t want to hurt you if I have one of my episodes at night while we’re alone at home. I was going to move into Derek’s loft for the time being because I can’t hurt werewolves and he’ll be able to stop me. Plus it gives us time to figure out what is happening and how to stop it; Deaton thinks it’s a good idea.”

“What about school?”

“I’ll drive him there every day and pick him up,” Derek answered and Stiles breathed out in relief. His dad was going for this but was only concerned about school, he could get by school and not put his father in danger. That was the only thing he wanted because he couldn’t lose his father. “I’ll make sure he does his work when he gets home and I don’t have a TV to get distracted by.”

“We’ll we’re buying one if I’m staying there,” Stiles cut in, raising an eyebrow at Derek, “there is no way I’m losing sleep and not having TV or internet access to bid my time.”

“Read a book or do your homework,” Derek said back and met him with his own raised eyebrows. Stiles frowned because Derek’s eyebrow raise was so much more intimidating than his and it made Stiles shrink into himself. “Fine I’ll get a TV you bug baby but you are not inviting the pack around at all hours to keep you company.”

“Only with your permission,” Stiles said and turned his attention back to his father, “so you see my roommate is going to drive me insane, I’ll probably end up killing him first, if you don’t hear from either of us in a week come and check.”

“Bite me,” Derek said behind him and Stiles turned around to smile at him wickedly. “Oh don’t even think about it,” he said and held him hands up in a defensive gesture, “I was joking asshole.”

“Well don’t tempt the sleep deprived human,” Stiles said and spun back around to face his dad. He was standing behind his desk with arms crossed over his chest, his eyes were darting back and forth between the two of them suspiciously and Stiles knew exactly what he was thinking. “No, we are not dating or romantically involved in any way,” he spat out quickly and looked at his father with wide eyes. “Derek isn’t inclined the same way that I am.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Derek shot out and looked at the back of Stiles’ head with a scowl.

“I’m bi-sexual,” Stiles said and turned to look at him. Derek must have shown surprise because Stiles shook his head, he had always assumed that Stiles was straight because of his pinning for Lydia, he hadn’t expected this and now it threw a spanner into the works because he could act on these feelings he had towards Stiles. “Anyway, I promise I will check in every day and come home for dinner probably with a tag along,” he gestured to Derek and he laughed at the way Stiles spoke about him. “I will still be there during the day just not when it gets dangerous at night.”

“Alright,” he breathed out and looked at his son then turned his attention to Derek, “you better promise to bring him back to me in one piece and without anything else happening to him.”

“I don’t know if I can promise that sir,” Derek said and Stiles looked at him with an angry scowl, “when has Stiles ever been normal.” He added and Stiles let out a tight laugh and turned back to his father, he wasn’t laughing and Stiles frowned. This was all Derek’s fault and he was going to kill him when they were alone. “I’ll take him home and get his belongings, if you would like to come for dinner tonight at the loft then you’re more than welcome, I think the pack would be there tonight and it will basically be a family dinner that Stiles will be cooking.”

“Thanks,” Stiles said sharply, “I am teaching you to cook when I’m at your house.” Derek nodded and Stiles took a step towards his father, his dad wrapped him in a tight hug and squeezed him until Stiles thought he could breathe anymore. “Dad, I can’t breathe.” He let him go and Stiles smiled at him. “I’ll see you tonight at the loft dad, dinner will be at six and then it’s usually followed by a game that one of us will bring over.”

“I’ll stay for dinner but not the game,” his dad said and Stiles nodded. He took a step back and turned to look at Derek, he nodded and they walked out of the office together. They drove to Stiles house in silence, he didn’t know if this was a good idea because he was going to be alone with Derek. No one else lived at the loft and he was going to be all alone with him through the week; he was now doubting this and being able to control his feelings. He was going to have to push that behind him and try to ignore them or else this was going to be awkward.

“Hurry up,” Derek said and Stiles looked out the window. They were at his house already and he hadn’t even realised. “You’ve got ten minutes or I am coming in after you.” Stiles nodded and hurried out of the car before Derek could say anything else. He pulled the leather jacket around him and tried to keep the cold from seeping into his bones; when he got inside he hurried upstairs and shoved everything into his duffle bag. He picked up his clothes basket and went back downstairs to shove it into Derek’s car; he didn’t even know if everything was going to fit into Derek’s small car. He flipped up the passenger seat and shoved his belongings into the back seat. He put the seat back and slid into it looking at Derek. “Well I’m surprised you did that without killing yourself.”

“You would have saved me,” Derek huffed and drove to his house. This was going to be the longest few weeks or months in his entire life; they better find a cure to this fast and hope that they could extract the darkness out of Stiles. If they didn’t he was going to do something foolish that they’d both regret.


End file.
